Richard J Sanders wrote... >What I really wanted, was any information such as direction ease/difficulty >of a tunnel or stretch of locks which would indicate it would be better to >go in a particular way given that I have the choice.
Yes, sorry - got a bit diverted there! If you are going to go clockwise then you would be doing the Rochdale first, starting from the Manchester end. The section between Locks 83 and 65 are padlocked and you need to book passage so that BW can unlock the padlocks. They expect you to start through Lock 83 above Ducie Street at 8.30 am so that means staying the night at Ducie Street (or around the corner in Telford Basin, in Piccadilly Village, off the Ashton Canal). If you chose to go anti-clockwise, then you could choose to moor overnight and come up the Rochdale Nine before starting up the Ashton at a time of your own choosing. The other places where you need to book passage are the Rochdale Summit and Standedge Tunnel. Whichever direction you are going, you need to moor overnight just below the summit of the Rochdale ready to be let across at around 8.30 am. Some people choose to moor up a few locks down and make an *early* start. Standedge Tunnel is currently restricted to two days a week but that is likely to have changed next year, with passages available on more days. Other than fitting your schedule around these booked passages there is no real reason to find one direction preferable to the other. I know some people like to do the Rochdale from west to east as the scenery then improves. The eastern half of the Huddersfield Narrow suffers from low pounds on some sections and it is marginally easier if you are going downhill and taking the water with you (i.e. doing the ring anti-clockwise). -- Martin Clark Pennine Waterways Website http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk
